A Nebraska woman who realized she could get free gas by swiping her loyalty card twice at the pump has been charged with felony theft: "you can't do that, prosecutors said."
Fuel pumps at the station received a software update in November 2022 that managed, among other things, rewards cards. But the company was unaware of a glitch that allowed anyone swiping a rewards card twice to put a gas pump into demonstration mode. In demo mode, the user could pump gas at no cost.
A probable cause statement from prosecutors said the loss-prevention manager determined that one particular card had been used repeatedly to obtain free gas. Police were able to trace the card to the suspect, and video surveillance showed the woman pumping gas on multiple occasions from November 2022 until June 1, when the glitch was fixed, the statement said.
If you're alarmed at the severity of the charge, know that she got 7,400 gallons of gas out of the trick and had begun selling it to others by the time they caught her.
Pour one out for whoever at the pump software company gets scapegoated for that demo trigger.
Previously: Gas station manager fired after accidentally selling gas for 69 cents per gallon
